From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

The white-shirted soldiers at Les Invalides were not the only ones who felt unbelievable about Count Isaac's resignation. This news also caused an uproar in the Paris Military Academy.

In just two days, the dispute between the Charles Gang and Earl Isaac had spread throughout the military academy.

Almost no students believed the statement in the newspaper about the harmonious negotiation between the two parties. On that dark and stormy night, many students witnessed it with their own eyes. The members of the Shire Gang were fully armed and galloped to the Moon Lake Manor, bringing them with them. Returning to the military academy smelling of blood.

What shocked the students even more was that in the outside world, both the government and the palace seemed to have accepted the statement in the report and did not deal with the students who attacked Yuehu Manor at all.

Rumor has it that some nobles who knew the inside story were very dissatisfied with this treasonous and violent act, and jointly submitted a petition to the palace, requesting His Majesty the King to strictly investigate and punish all students involved in this attack.

But the petition was said to have only been on the table for ten minutes before His Majesty the King indifferently threw it into the furnace.

As a result, even among the nobles who knew the inside story of that night, no one was stupid enough to seek justice for Count Isaac.

Even within the military academy, the cadets who participated in the operation that day only received a mild demerit for going out in violation of school rules. It is said that this was a punishment personally issued by the principal, General Balor.

Even the members of the Charles Gang did not expect that Count Isaac, whom they regarded as their top enemy, would roll out of Paris in despair.

Naturally, Lawrence would not treat these subordinates badly, risking jail time or even their lives to follow him.

The next day, Lawrence announced to the gang that Earl Isaac had given him the entire Moon Lake Manor as compensation.

Lawrence promised in front of everyone that the manor would become the residence of the gang, and the land attached to it would become the common property of all members. Any gang member would have a share of the property rights in the manor and have the right to withdraw money from the manor. Get your own share of the profits.

For many members, from now on, the rich and fertile Moon Lake Estate is their second home in Paris.

The members of the Shire Gang were stunned on the spot after receiving the news, and then everyone couldn't help but cheer.

Many of them are civilian students from other places and their financial conditions are quite tight.

These students never expected that Charles Bornaba, who also came from a poor background, would donate this huge property worth millions or even tens of millions of livres to the gang for free.

After all, the members knew in their hearts that they were able to stay in the military academy unharmed after the attack on Moon Lake Manor. This credit was due to the mysterious battalion commander Charles.

Even if Charles Bornaba completely occupied Moon Lake Manor, or held the majority of the property rights in his own hands, the gang members' rationality told them that Charles Bornaba deserved it.

Therefore, when the members received this extremely valuable property rights and income rights, it was a complete surprise for them. With the income from the manor land, even the poorest and most impoverished students were shaken overnight. He became a member of the middle class in Paris.

When other students in the military academy heard the news, they all felt envious and regretted why they had not submitted their applications earlier.

In today's Paris Military Academy, the Charles Gang has become the most popular student organization.

They took control of the Student Association, solved the biggest crisis of Earl Isaac, and provided valuable welfare guarantees to the members. There was unimaginable unity and cohesion within the gang, and they were able to mobilize everyone to kill with swords for the safety of one person. to the estate of an earl.

Today, this gang has become the target of all students, and any member of the Shire Gang can proudly hold his head high in the military academy.

In the past, Berthier would still worry about whether anyone would really join this ridiculous little gang, but now his worry has become how to deal with the pile of membership applications that are as tall as one person.

Several military academy teachers and administrative officials even wrote letters to Lawrence, vaguely expressing their interest in the student gang, suggesting that they could join the gang as instructors.

For Lawrence, his biggest purpose of coming to the Paris Military Academy has been basically achieved.

The next thing to do is to expand the scale of the gang while strengthening his control over the gang. At the same time, he will accompany Prince Louis in the military academy and quietly wait for the external situation to change.

On May 15, almost three months after the three Lawrences arrived at the Paris Military Academy.

In the early morning, as the battalion commander, Lawrence routinely organized the 21st cadet battalion to gather on the training ground, waiting for the arrival of Lieutenant Colonel Shadis.

After a while, Lieutenant Colonel Shadis, who was still drunk, yawned and staggered over.

However, today's Lieutenant Colonel Shadis did not start the training immediately. Instead, he called Lawrence in front of him first, looked at him with a strange expression for a while, and whispered:

"You don't need to train today. A big shot wants to see you and is waiting in the reception room of the Executive Yuan."

"Big shot?" Lawrence asked casually, but was not surprised.

After Louis XV became ill, relying on the mediation of the Duke of Orleans, the regent, the situation in Paris was relatively calm for more than three months.

But Lawrence could foresee early on that this peace could not be maintained for long.

Now it seems that, for better or worse, the undercurrents surging in this calm pool are gradually beginning to surface.

Lieutenant Colonel Shadis curled his lips and pretended to be impatient and said:

"I heard it's an adult from the Palace of Justice. Go quickly and don't make people wait."

"Yes, sir." Lawrence smiled, nodded, turned and left.

Lieutenant Colonel Shadis sighed, glanced at Lawrence's back worriedly, hesitated for a few seconds and suddenly said:

"Boy, if you encounter any trouble, just come to me. You may not be able to help me. The White Shirt Army and I both owe you a favor for that time with Earl Isaac."

In the eyes of Lieutenant Colonel Shadis, this kid might have been approached by people from the Palace of Justice because of what happened to Count Isaac last time.

Although Lieutenant Colonel Shadis would not care about anyone on the surface, his love for soldiers and soldiers is hidden in his bones, not to mention his favorite disciple Charles Bornaba. Lieutenant Colonel Dees was willing to pay any price to keep it.

Lawrence stopped, turned to look at Lieutenant Colonel Shadis, and said with a smile:

"Thank you, sir."

Lieutenant Colonel Shadis sighed again, suppressed the worry in his heart, waved his hands and cursed with a smile:

"Okay, okay, stop dawdling and get out. The rest of you, stop looking around! Charlie, you come out as acting battalion commander. Today you will teach the command points of marching and shooting on the battlefield. Please cheer up!"

After a while, Lawrence rushed to the Military Academy Administration Hall alone and was taken into a spacious and bright reception room by an assistant judge who had been waiting here.

Waiting in the reception room was Lawrence's old acquaintance - the French Chancellor and Louis XV's confidant, the Marquis de Maupe.

"Hahaha, long time no see, Chief Bonaparte."

Justice Maupp glanced at Lawrence's infantry uniform and laughed heartily:

"How was life in military school?"

"Ma-so-huhu, my main job is to serve His Highness." Even though it was just a pleasantries between two people, Lawrence still said without missing a beat:

"But I really didn't expect you to come there in person. What's the big deal?"

Justice Mopu nodded and became a little more serious. He took out a stack of documents from the briefcase in his hand and sorted them out slowly:

"Of course, His Majesty the King's coronation ceremony is coming soon. This is a big event. I'm afraid you, the protagonist, can no longer stay in the military academy."

The formal coronation of Louis XV as King of Corsica had long been left to Chancellor Maupe.

Lawrence and Justice Maupe initially agreed to hold the ceremony in late spring. However, due to the Paris riots at the beginning of the year and Madame Du Barry's incident, which irritated His Majesty the King, Louis XV's physical condition deteriorated sharply, and the time for the coronation ceremony was also changed. It was delayed a lot.

However, Louis XV naturally hoped to wear the Corsican crown as soon as possible, and Justice Maupe had to step up preparations for the ceremony.

Lawrence also nodded slightly, his purpose of coming to the Paris Military Academy was almost achieved.

The Charles Gang is growing day by day, and they are loyal to themselves as Charles Bornaba. After revealing their true identity, they can win their further loyalty.

The friendship with Duke Charles has also been established, and after spending so many days together, the two of them also appreciate each other's abilities.

Especially after Duke Charles learned that Lawrence had appointed Jean Jacques Rousseau, whom he admired, as Speaker of the Corsican Parliament, Duke Charlie felt that the two were like-minded people and both were loyal to freedom and enlightenment. Crowded.

As for Duke Charles and Crown Prince Louis, despite the constant quarrels and bickering between them, in a way, they can be considered to have a deep relationship.

"I do have to take a long vacation, but..."

Lawrence looked at the document in Justice Mopp's hand and realized that the other party should have some more important news to inform him:

"You can't go there in person just to ask for leave for me, right?"

"Haha, of course not. There is an important document that I need to hand over to you for review."

Justice Mopp smiled and shook his head, and handed the two documents to Lawrence:

"His Majesty the King has told me that I must hand it over to you personally and ask for your opinion."

"Your Majesty?"

Lawrence didn't say anything more, he just narrowed his eyes slightly and took the two documents and read them with concentration.

However, Lawrence soon discovered that the first document was the list of ministers of the Kingdom of Corsica that he had given to Justice Maupp when he returned to Paris from Corsica years ago.

If nothing unexpected happens, Louis XV will directly approve this list. After all, the appointment of the Corsican minister is just a process, and there is no need for Louis XV to deliberately damage Corsican relations when the two countries are at loggerheads.

However, on the second document, almost all the names of ministers designated by Lawrence were crossed out, and French names were written in red ink.

And it seems that these names were written by Louis XV himself.

The only thing that has not changed is the top line - Chief Minister: Laurence Bonaparte.

There is no doubt that Louis XV rejected the first list of ministers submitted by Lawrence and wanted to stuff this long list of Frenchmen into the Corsican cabinet.

"What does it mean?"

Lawrence slowly put down the two documents, but his expression did not change, he was not angry, and asked with a chuckle:

"If I remember correctly, Corsica's autonomy should be guaranteed, right?"

Justice Mopp seemed to be deliberately taking note of Lawrence's reaction. After seeing that Lawrence still looked relaxed and content, he nodded with satisfaction, pointed to the second document and said:

"If you look carefully at the list above, can you find anything?"

Lawrence frowned and carefully read the long list of names on the second list:

Chief Minister: Laurence Bonaparte

Chief Secretary of State: Count Morpa

President of the Privy Council: Duke of Orleans

President of the Supreme Administrative Court: Marquis de Maupe

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Count Vergenin

Chancellor of Finance: Ann Robert Jacques Turgot

"This is.!"

Lawrence stared at these names in surprise. He had not noticed it because he had just scrawled. But after carefully reading the lists, Lawrence immediately discovered the clues on them:

These are almost the members of the first cabinet formed by Louis XVI after he succeeded to the throne in 1774.

Historically, in 1774, after Louis XVI succeeded to the throne:

Count Vergenin, who was the Swedish ambassador, was immediately recalled to the country as foreign minister. Count Morpa, who had been in exile for nearly thirty years, was recalled as chief minister of the Privy Council. Turgot, who was serving as administrator in Limoges, He rose to the top in one fell swoop and became Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Justice Maupe continued as First Minister.

Even though there were many names at the end of the list that Lawrence was not impressed by, Lawrence vaguely remembered that they were all core members of Louis XVI's early government.

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, these are all"

Just as Justice Maupe was about to explain, Lawrence interrupted with a solemn expression:

"It must be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's future cabinet."

"You are really very intelligent." Justice Maupe was startled and looked at Lawrence with great admiration. He did not expect that Monsignor Bonaparte could see this meaning himself.

You know, before seeing this list, many of the names on it, even Justice Maupe himself did not know that they had been favored by Louis XV as cabinet ministers of the new king.

"Your Majesty appointed these people as ministers of the Kingdom of Corsica, that is to say," Lawrence looked solemn and murmured softly.

Justice Maupp carefully observed Lawrence's reaction and explained aloud:

"Let me first answer your initial question. The autonomy of the Kingdom of Corsica is guaranteed. These ministers almost only retain their titles and will not interfere with the internal governance of Corsica. As for the first list you handed over, the king His Majesty will appoint them as permanent undersecretaries of various departments, and they will exercise the powers of various departments in Corsica.”

Lawrence nodded slightly. In this way, Corsica's autonomy was essentially unaffected. The ministers originally designated by Lawrence would only change their titles to permanent undersecretaries in the future.

Moreover, if you think about it carefully, Louis XV did not take this opportunity to interfere with Corsica's autonomy. If that were the case, Louis XV would not have placed important officials like the Duke of Orleans and Justice Maupp in Corsica. Go to the cabinet.

"As for why His Majesty the King goes to such trouble?" Justice Mopp looked into Lawrence's eyes and asked softly:

"You should already have the answer, right?"

Lawrence looked seriously at Justice Maupe, whose name was also on the list.

After a very brief thought, Lawrence said in a low voice:

"Because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is too young."

Justice Mopu was stunned for a moment, then nodded his head and said with a wry smile:

"You are too clever, Monsignor Bonaparte."

Lawrence already understood that the reason why Louis XV put together the cabinet team he arranged for the new king at this time was because His Majesty the King was worried that Louis XVI would not be able to control the cabinet and government on his own in the future.

Under normal circumstances, the old king would usually send his favorite ministers to local or foreign countries for training, leaving them to be promoted and appointed by the new king in the future.

This kind of practice is also common in Eastern dynasties: many old emperors will specifically demote some potential young officials to local governments, thereby giving future emperors an opportunity to be kind and promote. With this kind of promotion, the ministers will also treat the monarch More loyal.

For example, Turgot is on this list. Louis XV has long admired his talent and reputation in academia, but so far he has been placed in Limoges, a town far away from Paris, as an administrator. Sir.

The same is true for the Counts of Vergenin and Morpa. The former was sent abroad as an ambassador for thirty years, while the latter was exiled and demoted for nearly thirty years. And they both succeeded Louis XVI in history. He was immediately recalled to the Central Committee and rose to prominence overnight.

However, Louis XV of this world has realized a problem:

His body could no longer support him for much longer, and there was not much time left for the crown prince.

After Crown Prince Louis succeeds to the throne, with the young crown prince's immature means and mediocre talents, the kingdom's government is likely to be controlled by a certain duke. In this way, no matter how careful Louis XV is in the cabinet list, In vain, because Louis XVI was simply incapable of controlling the cabinet under the circumstances.

I'm afraid this is why Louis XV gathered this cabinet together in advance. His Majesty the King must take advantage of his own time to support this faction loyal to the royal family and the crown prince, lest they have no chance of governing in the future. Chance.

At the same time, this is why Louis XV also added important ministers such as Justice Maupe and the Duke of Orleans to the list - he needed the assistance of several important ministers of the day to enhance the strength of this faction and ensure a smooth transition of power in the kingdom in the future. into the hands of the new king.

All in all, the autocratic power of the royal family has been threatened. In order to ensure that the royal power does not fall into the hands of a powerful duke like Choiseul in the future, Louis XV was forced to strengthen the political power of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and cultivate a political party loyal to the Crown Prince in advance. Factions.

"Thinking about it this way, it is easy to understand why Louis XV deliberately chose the Corsican cabinet as the carrier of this faction."

Lawrence sighed and closed his eyes in thought.

"Now that you understand, I'll be blunt."

Seeing that Lawrence had understood everything, Justice Maupe stopped being polite and directly conveyed His Majesty the King's wishes on his behalf:

"The members of this cabinet are called the Golden Iris faction by His Majesty, and His Majesty hopes that you will lead the integration of this faction."

Lawrence did not say anything rashly, but asked cautiously:

"If it is to integrate the parties as quickly as possible, then respected ministers like you and the Duke of Orleans are more suitable, right?"

"No, no, the Duke of Orleans has no interest in politics. He will resign after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne, or even earlier."

Justice Mopu shook his head in denial, and his tone was very firm:

"As for Your Majesty, His Majesty the King hopes that I will take over as Chief Minister and be responsible for state affairs after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince succeeds to the throne. In this case, it will not be suitable for me to take charge of party affairs."

"So I am in charge of party affairs. Do you want me to be the party whip?" Lawrence muttered with narrowed eyes.

It seems that His Majesty the King hopes that Justice Maupe will be the chief minister of state affairs, and Lawrence will be the loyal chamberlain.

"In addition, I have to remind you." Justice Mopu suddenly said:

"When you begin to lead the Golden Iris Faction, you will have to carefully review your relationship with the Duke of Choiseul."

Lawrence glanced at him and said nothing.

Justice Mopp waited for Lawrence's reaction for a while, and then continued after seeing no reply:

"You should have noticed a long time ago that His Majesty the King is afraid of the Duke of Choiseul, so the members of the Golden Iris faction are basically against the Duke."

Lawrence glanced down at the list and nodded to confirm.

The Count of Vergenin was at odds with the Duke of Choiseul in history. Choiseul did not trust his diplomatic ability and recalled him from abroad many times. The Count of Morpa was exiled and relegated because he offended Pompeo. Madame Badu's faction, Duke Choiseul was a core member of this faction back then.

There are also many others who have major or minor conflicts with Duke Choiseul. As for the members of the Choiseul faction, it is impossible to appear on this list. Lawrence may be the only exception.

Justice Maupe said in a deep voice, seeming to be conveying Louis XV's will:

"But if you would rather give up the Golden Iris faction and side with the Duke of Choiseul, then your political life can only continue in Corsica, and France will not welcome you, Monsignor Bonaparte."

Lawrence closed his eyes. He understood this without the other party having to tell him.

On the important matters of the succession of the country and the handover of the throne, Louis XV will be more serious and ruthless than ever.

If Lawrence really chooses the Duke of Choiseul, then it can be said that he has severed ties with the royal family.

But, the opposite is also true, it is an unequivocal question of taking sides.

Previously, fearing the Duke of Choiseul's example, Louis XV would not have asked Lawrence to leave this faction too urgently.

But now, when Louis XV knew that his time was running out, he could no longer tolerate and had no time to tolerate Lawrence's continued contact with Choiseul.

"I understand." Lawrence said flatly, cherishing his words like gold, holding his forehead and thinking deeply.

"I hope you really understand. By the way, Duke Choiseul will return to Paris soon to attend the coronation ceremony. Please make your understanding to His Majesty the King."

Justice Mopp glanced at Lawrence one last time, left the two lists on the table, stood up and left:

"Whether you continue to be dependent on others and live in the shadow of Choiseul all day long, or whether you want to break the skylight and take a step closer to supreme power, it all depends on your thoughts, Monsignor Bonaparte."